The Last Survivor
by the lurker
Summary: When a plane carrying Rudy Wells disappears in the Alps, Jaime Sommers and Steve Austin must work together to find him before any foreign government agents can kill him.
1. Finding Nemo

She watched him gently replace the phone in its cradle, and as he often did when he was upset, Oscar slid his hands into the pockets of his pants and began pacing behind his desk. Jaime swallowed hard but remained still, waiting for him to relay the information he'd been given. But instead, he kept up his soft path across the carpet of his office.

When she couldn't take it any longer, she spoke, "Oscar? What did Russ tell you?"

Oscar stopped his travels in front of the window behind his chair, his back to Jaime, his head and shoulders sagging slightly. He stared out the large glass pane for a long moment, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. Then he turned to face her, his dark eyes appearing almost like pools of liquid in sadness.

"There's a huge snowstorm," he swallowed roughly, "Russ confirmed that the plane went down, Jaime. We don't know where. The air force has been searching the last known radar position."

"Oh God…"

He moved to sit next to her then, taking her hand in his larger ones. "Come on, babe, all we know is that Rudy's plane is missing. The pilot may have made a safe emergency landing and we just don't know their current position."

Jaime fought the tears filling her eyes. "He shouldn't have been alone. Either Steve or I should have gone with him."

Goldman's eyes flashed a momentary pain of guilt as he withdrew his hands from hers, and his voice was slightly defensive in response, "We had no intel to indicate that the other side had any knowledge of Rudy's trip to Geneva to deliver the formulas for the genetic permutation coding, Jaime; it seemed like it would be far more dangerous to call attention to him. It was obviously the wrong call."

He looked away from her, and she could feel him emotionally retreating into himself.

Jaime picked up the large hand nearest her and squeezed it. "Oh Oscar, I wasn't accusing you of anything… I was just saying I wish one of us was with him, you know?"

His sorrowful eyes flicked up to meet her hazel ones. "Yes. I don't much like the idea that Rudy might be stranded somewhere or worse…"

"We can't think like that, Oscar, and you know it."

Oscar gently disengaged their hands and stood, his hands retreating into his pockets, his pacing resuming. "It's hard not to."

"I know," Jaime responded quietly.

The door to the office opened quickly and Steve entered, worry lining his face. "Oscar, I just heard and got here as quick as I could." He leaned down and kissed Jaime's cheek. "Is there anything new?"

"No," Goldman said softly, "nothing new. The air force is looking, Steve, waiting is about all we can do right now."

"What was their last reported position?"

"Somewhere in the Alps, Steve."

Austin let out a puff of air. "The Alps in the middle of winter. Not really the scenario I was looking for…"

"Nor I," Goldman agreed.

"When are we leaving, Steve?"

"Now wait a minute, you two—" Goldman started to say.

"Plane leaves in an hour, Jaime, you better get your gear together. And I know you hate it, but we'll parachute into the last known position and hoof it from there until we find them."

"No way. I am not sending the two of you into the Alps in the middle of a snowstorm by parachute."

"But Oscar—"

"—No 'buts' Jaime. The answer is no. The air force is having a hard enough time; I'm not risking the two of you."

"But if Rudy's alive and hurt, Oscar," Steve countered, "moving quickly is crucial if we're going to save him."

"Don't you think I know that?" Oscar growled through gritted teeth, "perhaps you think I enjoy the idea that Rudy might be hurt, stranded in a snowstorm because I made a decision to send him to Geneva alone…"

The silence in the office was stifling as Oscar tried to calm his temper and the realization of his tremendous guilt became clear to his two agents.

"This isn't your fault, Oscar," Steve said gently, "and nobody's saying that it is, pal."

Goldman released the sigh of air he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Sorry Steve, I know you're not pointing any fingers. I guess I'm just feeling guilty that I didn't send protection with Rudy in the first place." He swallowed. "I'm afraid for him. This might be a race against the clock to keep Rudy out of enemy hands. Even when you put the lid on this kind of thing, it has a way of creeping around the intelligence community. The Russians, Chinese, Middle East… any of them would want the formula." He looked away. "And none of them would hesitate in killing Rudy once they finished with him."

Austin moved toward his friend. "We have no way of knowing if the plane's disappearance was a planned attempt to get to Rudy, or if it might simply have been mechanical failure or pilot error."

Jaime stood then and joined the men. "Steve's right, Oscar, we're all too close to this to be objective. We need to know more before we can draw any conclusions."

Austin nodded. "In the meantime, I'd like for Jaime and I to start searching. Whatever the cause of the plane's disappearance, we still need to find Rudy."

Oscar looked from Steve's eyes to Jaime's and saw the worry for Wells in addition to the desire to be proactive in the search. He stepped away from them and once more turned his back to look out the window, his hands sliding into his pockets. They waited quietly while Goldman stared, then finally he looked down at the floor, his back still toward them.

His voice was soft when he spoke. "I'll have a helicopter fly you to Bethesda where you'll pick up a cargo plane." He turned toward them and finally met their eyes. "Please be careful."

"We will," promised Steve. "C'mon Jaime."

Oscar felt the lump forming in this throat as the two of them headed for the office door and exited quickly. As the door softly closed, Oscar whispered to the empty room, "Find him for me…"


	2. The Abyss

Blackness surrounded him. Blackness and an abyss of frigidness that he thought was hell come to visit. But why imagine something so unpleasant? As Rudy became more conscious, he realized he was lying in a very uncomfortable position. His mind began to stir more, and he became aware of a sharp pain in his right shoulder that radiated down through his ribs. He tried to move slightly and groaned. What happened? He couldn't remember. He was on a plane headed to Geneva, wasn't he? Slowly his eyes opened; the sight that greeted him was far more than just jarring.

He was looking at the interior of the plane – or what was left of it – and he realized he was upside down, still strapped in his seat. As his eyes blinked, his brain trying to make sense of the images before him, the pain in his right side was quickly becoming agony. Rudy tried to block it out and focus on what he was seeing. The plane had landed on its top, but the fuselage had been completely ripped apart, splitting the body of the aircraft just above the forward wings. Rudy's seat had been in the front section of the plane, which turned out to be fortunate; the back half was neither attached nor anywhere that he could see.

Painfully, Wells turned his head to look across the aisle from his seat, and the sight of the bodies that had been ripped in two made his stomach turn. It was obvious from the way that people had been thrown around the cabin, bodies wrecked past repair, that the crash had taken everyone by surprise – many had not been belted into their seats. He couldn't remember the events leading up to the carnage that lay strewn about him. He slammed his eyes shut against the nausea that suddenly gripped him. He gently shook his head to clear it, surprised that a scientist such as himself should be so taken aback by gore; but then, he had never been the most detached or cool of the scientific community. The sight of human bodies mangled beyond recognition had always disturbed him greatly no matter how much he tried to view it with a scientifically trained mind, he had never been successful at separating the humanity from the experiment or in this case, the horror of reality.

When he opened his eyes again, he also realized the ambient light from outside was quickly receding; nighttime was imminent. If he stayed where he was, he'd freeze to death. It was that simple. He looked at the man next to him and reached a hand for his carotid artery and knew from the stiffness of rigor that the man was dead. He looked around for any sign of life, but nothing was forth coming. Could it be that he was the only one of 270 passengers who survived? That was too horrible a thing to contemplate, and Rudy shoved the idea away and turned his attention to the increasing pain coming from the right side of his body.

He glanced at his shoulder and could see the problem: there was a sharp piece of metal protruding from his right shoulder area. Judging from the radiation of pain, Rudy guessed that it had embedded somewhere between the shoulder blade and the upper part of his rib cage, very near the large arteries feeding his heart. Any sudden move could be his last. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he glanced down his right side, there was nothing piercing the flesh, but he could tell that at least two ribs were broken, possibly more, and moving quickly using any of the muscles or skeletal structure of that side of his upper body was out.

Rudy looked above him, at the ceiling of the aircraft; he was approximately three feet from it. Once he released the seat belt, he knew gravity would send his body crashing into the hard metal of the plane's top. If he was jarred the wrong way, the object piercing his upper right arm and torso might travel just enough to slice into one of the heart's main arteries, and that would be that. Wells swallowed, assessing the situation. There really was no choice. He could stay fastened in his seat and either die of all of the blood collecting in his head for too long, or of exposure given the rapidly dropping temperature, or he could risk the drop from his seat onto the ceiling of the plane.

Not much of a choice.

Knowing there was nothing else to do, Rudy tried to angle himself in his seat to allow him to twist in the quick fall to land on his left side. After taking a couple of calming breaths, he reached down with his left hand and pulled on the seat belt release. His body quickly tumbled out of the seat, landing with a thud on the ceiling of the plane. He mostly managed to take the fall on his left side, but it wasn't without a jarring consequence to his right.

He cried out in agony as he painfully connected with the metal surface of the ceiling. His breath came fast and ragged as he lay in a lump trying to let the worst of the pain pass. After a long time, he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position with his left arm. His head was dizzy with the loss of blood and from the fall. He tried to quell the building nausea, but he didn't stand a chance as whatever had been left in his stomach raced to the surface, expunging itself from his system. Wells wretched violently until he passed out, the cold metal surface beneath him the only comfort available.


	3. Fly, Jaime

Jaime shook with fear as the door in the cargo plane was thrown open. Steve steadied her with a hand on her arm.

"It'll be over before you know it."

"That's what you said the last time."

Steve had to force a smile as the awful memory of Jaime's skydiving accident flooded his mind. "Lightening never strikes twice."

"Let's just get this part over," Jaime muttered under her breath.

As the jump indicator lights switched from red to green, Steve nodded at Jaime and the two of them bailed out. The cold and sudden rush of air hit Jaime's face, and she slammed her eyes shut as the memories of the accident charged her consciousness. Her death grip on Steve's hand increased, and he wished he had taken her left hand instead. The parachutes deployed automatically, yet the extra weight of the backpacks they were wearing across the front of their bodies made no difference in the gentle flight toward the earth.

Steve guided them to the most open looking area near them, and they landed without incident, much to Jaime's relief. They released themselves from their chutes and gathered up the equipment, switching their packs to their backs. Steve pulled the small radio from the pocket of his jumpsuit, not noticing Jaime's sudden distraction. She glared all around them and listened intently with her bionic ear, the feeling that she and Steve were not alone at the mountain's base almost overwhelming her.

"Happy to Snow White…"

Oscar's voice sounded immediately, "This is Snow White. I take it you're 'happy' for a good reason…"

"Grumpy and I landed easily. We're ready to roll."

"Is it snowing?"

Steve glanced at the small and cold drops of snow floating down from the heavens. "Lightly at the moment."

"Stay watchful. The weather is supposed to take a nose dive, Happy."

"We're not planning on being here that long."

"Any sign of anything from your vantage point?"

"Afraid not. We're going to start the ascent. Given the newest intel from the air force, the wreckage of Doc and his party crashed on the western face of the mountain. Not ideal at all."

"The western face? Isn't that the most dangerous?"

"Yep. Complete with avalanches and sudden inclement weather changes and storms. An "E" ticket for sure, Snow White."

"Did the rescue planes spot any sign of survivors?"

"Afraid not, but they couldn't get in close enough due to weather. There's just no way any aircraft can approach right now. Weather'll take 'em down. Doc's best chance is Grumpy and me."

"Keep me posted, Steve. And the two of you be careful, you hear?"

"Got it, Snow White. Grumpy and I will report in two hours. Matterhorn out."

Jaime glared at him. "Grumpy?"

"Well sweetheart, you weren't exactly thrilled about the jump."

"Uh-huh. Let's get busy, Dopey."

And the culmination of Rudy Wells' greatest achievements started up the west face of the Matterhorn, the most difficult and dangerous face to ascend; but the quickest way to get to Rudy. Jaime once again sensed that she and Steve were not alone, but she shrugged it off and chalked it up to worry over Rudy.

* * *

Rudy had lost track of time, but his hands and feet were numb and he was shivering terribly when he regained consciousness on the surface of the plane's ceiling. The wind was whipping through the narrow interior which had too many holes in it to provide adequate protection. However, Rudy instinctively knew that if he could find some blankets and coats and hunker down in the midst of the seats, it was the best protection he had available to him.

His mind jumped momentarily from his own survival to pondering the survival of his fellow passengers. Painfully and carefully, Wells stood, cradling his injured side; he needed to immobilize it. Slowly he made his way through the death and destruction surrounding him, and the realization that he was certainly the sole survivor in the forward cabin closed in on him. He fought the tears that threatened to rain down his high cheeks; not tears of fear for himself, but rather ones of mourning for all of those who died. And in the same moment of thought, he couldn't help wondering why he had been spared. As he cautiously made his way toward the large gaping hole at the back of the forward cabin, where the main economy cabin had once been, the tears continued to stream silently down his face.

He spotted a bright neck scarf around a dead woman's throat, and he gently removed it, closing her open eyes as he did so. His numb hands fought him, but he managed to tie it and struggling, slipped it around his neck into a sling to hold his right arm immobile in the hopes he could keep the metal shard from slipping. He then set about the task of collecting anything warm: blankets, coats, scarves, mittens and gloves and carried them one at a time forward, toward the galley, surmising that this enclosure would provide the best warmth. Wells then tediously cleared out the galley, making a stash of what food and drinkable beverages he found, along with his bounty of warm clothing, and grabbing a blanket to pull around himself as he headed toward the cockpit, he left the galley.

As he guessed, the pilots and navigator were all dead, the windshield smashed and the radio destroyed. With these unwelcome discoveries, Rudy understood that any chance of a quick rescue was out of the question – he was on his own for the foreseeable future. He then realized he needed to search the plane, and sadly, the dead, for any usable items that might keep him alive longer such as cigarette lighters, food, flashlights and anything that might be used as kindling. He searched the cockpit and put the useful items into the galley. He looked down the aisle of the upside down forward cabin and clenching his jaw, set about the horrible task of collecting items. Judging by the darkening sky, he needed to hurry so that he could settle in under all the clothing in the galley for the night.

* * *

Steve and Jaime stopped on a jutted landing to take a moment's rest from their climb, not talking, but quietly conserving energy, each taking some water and consuming an energy bar from their packs. Finally Steve glanced at her for a long moment.

"How're you doing?"

"I'm fine, Steve."

"You look cold."

"In case you missed it, there's a near blizzard coming on."

"I didn't miss it."

She changed the subject. "Don't you need to contact Oscar?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."

Steve pulled out the radio from his pocket. "Snow White, this is Sleepy. How do you read?"

It took a moment, but Steve recognized Russ' voice. "We copy, Sleepy. This is the Magic Mirror. What is your status?"

"Grumpy and I are okay. No sign of Doc as yet. Where's Snow White?"

"Meeting with Queen Grimhilde."

Steve frowned for a moment, and Jaime said, "The Secretary?"

Austin nodded at her and said into the radio, "Hope all is well."

"It'll be fine," Russ responded curtly. "Look for you in another two, Sleepy. Magic Mirror out."

Steve slid the radio back into his pocket. "Do you get the feeling that Oscar's in some hot water?"

"Sounded like it," Jaime said.

"It's getting dark," Steve announced the obvious, "this seems like as good a spot as any to camp for the night."

Jaime nodded and began unloading her pack. "Steve… do you think that others might be out here searching?"

"What others, Jaime? No military would sign off on it…"

"I meant other agents, I guess."

"I don't know. Why?"

"It's silly I suppose, but I keep feeling like we're not alone. Don't you feel it?"

"Can't say that I do."

They silently set up their camp for the night and when they sat down to their rations, Jaime spoke again.

"Oscar said that he was unsure of how many foreign governments _might_ be on to the fact that Rudy was heading to Geneva with the genetic formula…"

Steve looked up from his beef jerky. "Well, if there are, we'd better be sure we get to Rudy first."

"I'm scared for him, Steve."

He let the comment lie for a long moment before saying, "Me too."

* * *

From their vantage point about a half a mile away, the Russian agents watched the two Americans through infrared binoculars.

"Американцы на ночь. Давайте немного поспать." _[The Americans are down for the night. Let's get some sleep.]_

"Мы позволим им вести нас к Rudy Уэллс. Тогда мы будем распоряжаться ими и принимать его_. Конечно, если наш агент внутри выжил, он, возможно, уже закуплено формулу из скважин и утилизировать его. Это сделает все наши рабочие места легче." [We will let them lead us to Rudy Wells. Then we will dispose of them and take him. Of course, if our agent on the inside survived, we may have already procured the formula from Wells and disposed of him. This will make all of our jobs easier.]_

"Согласен." _[Agreed.]_


	4. Madeleine Perdoux

Rudy slowly made his way toward the gaping hole of the fuselage where the plane literally split in two, using a flashlight he had found in the cockpit to carefully find his way through the waning light. He wanted to check and be sure that there were no other survivors before he tried to settle in and keep warm for the night. He shivered uncontrollably under the blanket he had thrown over his shoulders. The frigid temperature and rapidly descending snow from the quick moving storm was making itself known.

Wells stood on the jagged edge of the ripped metal and shined the light out into the dusky snow-covered cornice and realized just how precariously placed his section of the plane was to the edge of the mountain. His shiver deepened.

His voice raspy, he called out, "Hello! Is anyone out there?" He waited, but heard nothing. "Hello! Can anyone hear me? Is anyone alive?"

A faintly accented weak female voice responded. "Here! I'm here, but I am trapped. Help me! Please help me!"

Carefully and not as quickly as he wanted, Rudy stepped into the snow and made his way toward the calling voice. He knelt next to a half-frozen blonde woman in her early 40s, her body unharmed, but trapped by a piece of the plane.

"It's okay, I'm here," Rudy's warm voice said. "Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so," she said, "just freezing and trapped."

"Okay, I don't have the use of my right arm, but I can try and move this with my left, if you can help by using your legs."

"All right."

Wells carefully took ahold of the metal piece and began pulling it off of her while she pushed against it with her legs. It took them several tries and 15 minutes, but by the end, she was free. The woman cautiously stood, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth.

"Here," Rudy said, removing the blanket from his shoulders, handing it to her with his good hand, "take this."

"Merci."

"So you are French?"

"Oui."

"I'm American. Rudy Wells is the name. What's yours?"

"I am Madeleine Perdoux."

Rudy thought he could hear something else mixed in her accent, but looking into her grateful and evocative green eyes, he didn't much care. "I'm pleased to meet you, despite the circumstance."

And Rudy's smile betrayed the sudden warmth his heart felt; not only for finding a fellow survivor, but also delight at such a charming one.

"Come on," he said softly, taking her by the elbow, "I've already prepared a place with blankets and coats that will provide some shelter for the night."

"Are we it? The only ones?"

Rudy's countenance turned grim. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Mon Dieu… all dead."

"Come on, Ms. Perdoux, follow me."

"Oui."

The two of them carefully made their way into the plane, down the aisle and into the galley. Rudy started to make two beds with the clothing and blankets, but her voice stopped him.

"Let me do that, Mr. Wells. You are hurt. Just sit there and rest; I can take care of this."

Rudy watched as she made one larger cushioned area with clothes toward the back of the galley. She shrugged into a coat, scarf and gloves and then covered Rudy's shoulders with a coat, helping him to put his left arm through the sleeve. She slid gloves onto his freezing hands and wrapped a scarf around his neck. His eyes locked onto hers momentarily, until embarrassed, he looked away.

She smiled, the amusement in her voice apparent in the light tone, "You Americans are always a bit shy at first." She glanced over at the "bed" she had made. "I should think after tonight, when we will need each other to keep warm, you may be less easily embarrassed by natural feelings."

"I wasn't embarrassed," Rudy's voice growled slightly, "but it's not as if we know each other."

He winced slightly at the pain in his side; after meeting the pretty woman in front of him, he had almost forgotten it. She stepped toward him, steadying him with a hand.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes," the grimace in his voice clear, "just moved the wrong way."

"We could try and remove the metal from your shoulder…"

"No," Rudy said quickly, "if you do that, I'll probably bleed to death."

"Monsieur?"

"The piece of metal has most likely clipped an artery, and is acting as a tamponade. If you remove it, the blood flow will rapidly expand and the blood loss will kill me."

"Are you a doctor, Monsieur?"

"Yes, yes I am."

"Ah, well, in that case, I will defer to your judgment in such matters."

"Gee, thanks," Rudy answered somewhat sarcastically.

"Come," Perdoux said sitting on the floor with her back up against the plane, "you can lean on me. The warmth between us will help." Rudy hesitated a moment too long. "Of course, if you would prefer to remain where you are, I can hand you some blankets."

He smiled. "No, you're right. Body warmth will help keep us alive."

There was a part of Rudy – a part he thought long dormant – that was secretly thrilled with the prospect of feeling such a beautiful woman hold him through the nigh; if only it hadn't been under such horrible circumstances. Rudy knelt on the floor, and allowed himself to lean into her waiting arms, his back pressing into her as she pulled the blankets over both of them, wrapping her arms around his chest, tilting his head to lean into her neck.

"Get some rest, monsieur le Docteur, things will look brighter in the morning. Of this, I am certain."

She gently adjusted his left side into her so that his right would bear no weight, pushing his head further into her neck. Feeling the tension in his body, Perdoux stroked the back of his head with her gloved hand. Rudy sighed slightly as he began to relax and fall into a light sleep.

"C'est cela, le Dr Wells, simplement se reposer ..." _[That's it, Dr. Wells, just rest…]_

The snow continued to fall outside, silently sealing them in their small chamber.


	5. Dopey Speaks

Oscar angrily stabbed the button on the console again. "Snow White to Happy, Sleepy, Dopey, Bashful, Grumpy or any other dwarf within the sound of my voice. Come in."

He was once again greeted only with static.

"Damnit."

Russ set the cup of coffee in front of him. "Take it easy, Oscar. With the current weather front, the national weather service tells us that we're not going to get anything but static for probably the next six hours."

"Screw the national weather service," Goldman growled.

Russ made a face at his superior. "Shall I start at the top echelons or the bottom?"

Such sarcasm stopped Goldman cold, as his aide almost never came back with such a retort.

"Okay, okay," Oscar relented, "I'm being difficult. I get it."

Russ gently squeezed the shoulder nearest him. "Not really. You're just worried, and **I** get **that**."

"I just wish we'd hear from them…"

"I'm sure they're fine, Oscar."

Goldman just stared at Mark Russell for a moment, then looked away. "From your mouth to God's ear."

* * *

Jaime's foot slipped in the hold again, and she scrambled to keep her bionic grip on the piton.

"Jaime! Are you okay?"

"Yes. The fresh snow is making it slippery."

"Yes it is. Not sure if you've noticed, but we're scaling the Matterhorn in a near blizzard." Steve teased. "You've got to move a little slower."

"This is taking forever, Steve. Rudy could be hurt and need our help."

"Yeah, but if you rush, slip and kill yourself, what good will you be to him then?"

Jaime glared at him for his sense of logic. "Point taken, Colonel Austin."

"Come on, let's keep moving."

The two of them continued to scale up the west face of the Matterhorn, searching for the exact spot of the downed plane. But as they moved higher, Jaime began to realize that there was no place an entire intact plane could be sitting, and she had to swallow her own bile as she envisioned bits of Rudy's plane strewn across the mountain.

She reached for the next grip. "Please God, let him be okay."

* * *

The Russians discreetly followed them up the face of the mountain, keeping their distance. They were reasonably certain that at this point, the Americans had no idea they were being shadowed.

* * *

As the storm raged on, the sun's beams were barely felt or seen in the galley of the broken plane. Rudy shivered under the piles of blankets, against the warm body of Madeline Perdoux.

"Dr. Wells? Rudy?"

He groaned slightly in response. Perdoux removed a glove and felt his forehead: it was very warm.

"Rudy? Are you all right, hmm?"

He slowly came around. "Mmm… Where…?" He pushed away from her slightly. "I'm so sorry, I must be crushing you."

"You're not crushing me, but you are running a fever."

"I'm okay. We should probably eat something…"

He started to get up, but became rapidly dizzy. Perdoux steadied him against herself.

"Why don't you let me do it? You should rest."

She gently moved from behind him, leaning him against the bulkhead, and standing, she looked over their food options. Deciding on a couple of granola bars and two bottles of water, she knelt down, handing him a bar. They ate in silence, and each drank the entire bottle: the one thing they didn't need to worry about on a mountain of snow was dying of thirst. Rudy's eyelids flickered slightly.

"Are you sleepy?"

"A little," he said, his voice low.

"it's all right then, rest. From what I can tell of the weather, we're not going to be going outside any time soon."

He nodded but his eyes didn't leave hers. She could read his pain and fear… and something else. Perdoux smiled, recognizing the emotion. She knelt closer.

"Would you like me to keep you warm while you sleep?"

His eyes smiled before it reached his lips. "Yes," he said simply.

"Very well then."

She crawled under the blankets, this time facing him, putting her arms around his back.

"Is this better?"

"Yes, Madame Perdoux, I believe that it is."

"You know, Dr. Wells, given our situation, titles and surnames seem a bit formal, do you not think?"

"Uh-huh," Rudy agreed as he moved a little closer to her, his face only inches from hers.

"You might wish to call me Madeleine, if I may call you Rudy."

His lips pulled into a smile as they moved ever closer to hers. "That seems fair."

He was so close to her she could feel his breath hot against her lips. She gently leaned in the rest of the way, softly touching his lips with hers briefly. Rudy sighed and pressed his lips lightly again to hers more sensuously, slowly, but still not deeply. Her hands came to his face and pulled his mouth into hers in a deep kiss. It wasn't what he planned, none of it was, but if he were being honest with himself, he had to admit that he found her attractive. It wasn't in his nature to take advantage of people – especially women, but her warmth and softness calmed his fears and in many ways lessened the pain that had been his constant companion since the crash. He hoped she'd forgive him later; then again, she did not exactly seem to be an uninterested bystander…

* * *

The Russian agents watched as the two Americans came upon the back section of the airplane. They waited silently while they entered the ragged metallic piece and some time later, emerged looking both worried yet relieved.

"Уэллс был, очевидно, не существует." _[Wells was obviously not there.]_

"Мы будем ждать, пока они уйдут, то мы должны искать наши собственные действующие в обломки." _[We will wait until they leave, then we will need to look for our own operative in the wreckage.]_

"Будем надеяться, что мы так повезло, как американцы." _[Let us hope we are as lucky as the Americans.]_

They waited until Jaime and Steve had begun to climb and were out of sight, then the two agents moved in quickly to conduct their own search.

* * *

"Steve," Jaime called up to him.

"Yeah?"

"Can we take a break soon?"

"Getting tired?"

"Very. And I'm starving."

"Okay, there should be a spot above this next section where we have the space to sit for a bit."

The two of them climbed, neither commenting on how relieved they were not to have discovered Rudy in the carnage below. Jaime's heart was still pounding from the sight that first greeted them: bodies in various stages of dismemberment littering the section of the plane. It looked like the plane had literally been torn apart. And then the thought that perhaps Rudy's section was equally destroyed floated in and out of her mind. By the time Steve stopped on the landing above, tears were rushing down her face.

"Jaime? What is it?"

"Nothing. It's nothing…"

"It doesn't look like nothing."

"I'm sorry. I'm having trouble getting what we saw out of my head. What if Rudy is—"

"—No. **No.** We're not going to start thinking that way, Jaime. We can't. We have to believe that Rudy made it."

"None of those people 'made it,' Steve."

"We've got to stay positive." His mouth formed a thin line across his face as he contemplated voicing to her what he'd been thinking since the day before. "Look, Jaime, no matter what we find, we're bringing Rudy home."

"Oh God, Steve, don't say that."

"Are you with me?"

Fresh tears streamed down her face and Austin took her hands in his. "Are you with me?"

She nodded, not trusting her voice. But she prayed they wouldn't have to live through such a loss.

The crackle of Steve's radio brought them both quickly back into the moment.

"Dopey, this is Snow White… Come in Dopey, break the silence."

Steve pressed the button. "We're here, Snow White; you know, historically, it's not that Dopey was mute; he simply never tried to speak."

Steve and Jaime could both hear the relief in Oscar's voice. "Thank God you're all right, Happy. I was becoming concerned. Grumpy okay?"

Jaime snatched the radio and answered, "Grumpy's not mute either, Snow White."

"It's good to hear your voice, babe… you sound tired…"

"Affirmative, Snow White, this particular E-ticket is extra hard work."

"No sign of Doc yet?"

"'Fraid not. We're getting ready for the next section of the climb though."

She handed the radio back to Steve.

"Happy here… we're making progress as quickly as we can. We discovered the back section of the aircraft. It's at about 11, 456 feet. There was fortunately no sign of Doc there; we are working our way up. The front section would have dropped second, so it stands to reason it would be a little higher."

"Why fortunate that there was no sign of Doc?"

"There were no survivors, Snow White. Not-Very-Happy out."


	6. Et tu, Madeleine?

Rudy started, jerking awake. He felt disoriented, hot and dizzy. He groaned, licking his dry lips. A moment later he felt comforting hands rubbing the left side of his back, gently soothing him.

Madeleine checked his head: his fever had escalated. She also examined the wound area which looked bloodier than it had before, as if the tamponade was losing its strong hold.

"Is there water?" Rudy asked.

She put a bottle to his lips and poured a little into his mouth.

"Thanks…" He could see her brow furrow. "I'm not doing too well, am I?"

"You've been better."

He reached for her hand. "I'd do it again to meet you."

Rudy smiled, but passed out again. Perdoux studied his face; even with a fever it was handsome, his full lips calling to her even then. It felt as if reason and logic had abandoned her. Somewhere in all of this there was a solution in which she'd come out with everything including Wells… somewhere. She just had to think on it for awhile...

* * *

Perdoux had fallen asleep, cradling the ailing Rudy against her as best she could avoiding further injury to his right side. The sounds of movement stirred her and her eyes popped open, suddenly wide-awake. And then she heard voices.

"Back here! We're here!" She called.

The footfalls moved quickly toward her and she was confronted with the faces of Jaime and Steve, who were relieved to see Rudy but slightly surprised to find him in the arms of a strange woman.

Jaime moved to Rudy first, taking his head in her hands, moving him slightly away from Perdoux.

"Rudy? Rudy…"

"His upper shoulder was punctured during the crash," Perdoux offered, moving the blankets back and herself slightly away from him. "I was keeping him warm," she added, sounding as though she was stating the obvious for the wrong reason, even to her own ears.

"Thanks for your help, Miss…"

"Perdoux," she answered Steve, "Madeleine Perdoux."

"Thanks for keeping him alive."

"Who are you that you could be here rescuing us and know who he is?"

Steve smiled, "We're old friends of his." His smile widened, "It looks like you're a new friend of his…"

She smiled smoothly. "A fellow survivor of the crash at least."

"Steve," Jaime's voice had a fair amount of alarm in it, "this piece of metal has to come out, but I'm afraid of the bleeding."

"Actually," Perdoux interjected, "Dr. Wells diagnosed it himself and said that if the metal comes out he might bleed to death."

"It's acting as a dam," Steve said, "keeping the bleeding at bay."

The two bionic agents shared a look, both knowing what they could do to fix it and get the metal out as well. Jaime put a hand on Rudy's forehead.

"How long has his fever been this bad?"

"At least a day now," Perdoux answered.

Jaime nodded, pulled water from her pack, poured it on a handkerchief and pressed the cool cloth to Rudy's head. Momentarily he began to moan.

"Hey Rudy, it's okay babe. You're gonna be fine."

His eyes slowly opened. "Jaime? Jaime what are you doing here?"

"Getting you out of here."

He shook his head. "Not under my own steam."

Steve responded, "I'll carry you if I have to, but we're getting you out of here, pal."

"Madeleine?"

Perdoux took Wells' outstretched hand. "Here, Rudy."

He tried to pull her toward him, but she resisted slightly, feeling the watchful gaze of the two Americans. His brow furrowed looking deeply into her eyes. She could easily read the hurt and the lack of understanding. She brushed her hand over his brow, then leaned down and kissed it.

"Rest. You need it."

Still confused, he pulled her toward him once more, and this time she allowed it. He softly brushed her mouth with his, much to the shock of both Jaime and Steve.

"Fellow survivor seems informationally incomplete," Steve muttered to Jaime.

"Pardon me?" Perdoux asked.

"Uh, nothing," Steve replied.

Jaime felt a sudden rush of jealousy, that seemed childish even to her. She brushed it aside, and said, "Steve and I can help him, but we'll need a little time with him alone."

"What are you talking about? I just told you he said he'd die if the metal is removed…"

"You're going to have to trust us, Ms. Perdoux," Steve said.

Jaime touched her arm. "We love him too; we're not going to let anything happen to him."

Knowing any further interference might look strange and she was definitely outnumbered, Perdoux stood and retreated into another section of the plane, taking a blanket for warmth with her. Jaime and Steve set to work extracting the bullet and cauterizing the open vein using the hot wires in Jaime's hand. After thirty minutes, Rudy's face was deathly pale and bathed in sweat, but his bionic creations felt reasonably sure that he would survive if they could now just get him down off the Matterhorn.

"You will stop, please," said a male Russian-accented voice. "And you will stand slowly."

Jaime and Steve glanced at each other, but slowly complied.

"Turn around," he added.

The two bionic agents turned to see a man and a woman facing them with guns. And to their surprise, Madeleine Perdoux was standing in between them.

"Oh don't look so surprised," Perdoux said, "How do you think your air force pinpointed this plane?" She held up a lipstick tube, and opened it to reveal a blinking light. "It certainly wasn't the poorly made American homing beacon. It's too bad your people picked up on it, but I had no choice to use it." She moved closer to them. "So whom do you work for? CIA? Secret Service? The OSI? Ah, I am betting the latter."

The two agents simply stared at her.

"Well, no matter. I have no further need of you, but I do thank you for making Dr. Wells travel-ready; it will make getting home much easier. Then we will torture him until he gives us the formula kept in his head. In the meantime, Sasha, Vladmir, make it look like these two died trying to investigate this crash site, and then bring Wells. Our ride will be here shortly."

"Tell me one thing," Austin said, "Was the crash planned?"

"Of course not, you arrogant American pig," Perdoux said, "Do you think we would kill 270 people and risk killing your Dr. Wells? Ours was a much cleaner plan: we were simply going to take him in Geneva when the plane landed, but instead we hit bad weather and the plane went down."

"And the girlfriend-in-waiting act?" Steve pressed, "What was that about?"

"It seemed the easiest way to gain his trust."

"You'll never get him to tell you the formula. No matter what you do or say to him, he'll never divulge it to you."

"Your belief in him is touching, but breaking the souls of lonely workaholic men are my specialty. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have preparations to make."

Jaime glanced over at Rudy as she was being shoved away by one of the Russian agents, and she saw tears streaming down his face: she doubted that it was from the pain of his crash wounds…


	7. Unexpected Outcomes

The Russians escorted Jaime and Steve out into the snow, shoving them as hard as they could through the opening of the plane.

"Kneel!"

"If you really want us to," Steve began…

And the two bionic agents bent their knees and leaped for the Russian agents, knocking their guns free, and tackling them in the snow. Within moments the bionics won out and the two Russians were lying unconscious on the mountain. As Jaime and Steve dragged their bodies toward the plane, the sound of a Lynx helicopter approaching caught their attention.

"Steve!"

"That'll be our ride outta here, Jaime."

"It will?"

"Well, after we switch out pilots, it will." He smiled at her. "I'll take care of the pilot when he gets here. You'll have to deal with Cleopatra in there and then get Rudy out here."

"Meet you on the skyway!"

"You bet," he smiled.

Steve watched Jaime head back into the plane as he hid as best he could behind it, awaiting the helicopter.

* * *

Madeleine knelt next to Rudy, holding his hand tightly in hers. "I know you are in pain, Rudy, but you must help me to get you outside. We are being rescued!"

Wells stared at her unable to fathom the words she had spoken earlier. But the sadness in his eyes spoke volumes and Perdoux wondered for a moment if he had heard her. She chose to ignore it.

She pulled him into a sitting position, gently pressing her lips to his which contrary to his mind's wishes, his body responded to; sensing his reaction and a momentary advantage, she quickly deepened the kiss and Wells moaned.

"Just wait," she breathed, placing brief kisses between words, "until I get you back to Paris…" She allowed her hands to roam slightly and Rudy groaned heavily a moment later, the lonely man inside of the logical scientist starved for this kind of attention.

A voice interrupted the moment. "Rudy! Move away from her!"

But Perdoux was faster than Jaime had hoped and before Jaime could gain an advantage, Perdoux was behind Rudy, an arm around his neck, a shiny gun barrel pressing into Rudy's temple.

"Don't take another step," Perdoux warned.

"You're not going to kill him. If you do, you'll lose the formula," Jaime countered.

"And so will you," Perdoux responded.

"Madeleine," Rudy's voice said softly, "what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, Rudy… on many levels. But I don't have a choice."

"You **do** have a choice," Jaime said.

"Shut up," Perdoux growled, tightening her grip on the doctor's neck causing him to wince.

"You're hurting him! If you cared at all—"

The sound of the trigger cocking stopped Jaime in mid-sentence, the glare from Perdoux' eyes making her intention clear. And then the sound of the Lynx helicopter blades churning from outside grabbed their attention. Perdoux smiled.

"Now," she said softly, "you're going to turn around, Jaime, and then the three of us are going to walk slowly out of here. And you're not going to try anything because if you do, I will pull the trigger."

Jaime's eyes caught Rudy's momentarily, his silently pleading to do what was necessary to end the situation. But Jaime knew she couldn't watch Wells die; and deep down, so did he. He sighed as Jaime turned and Madeleine pulled him to his feet, painfully. The three of them slowly began walking toward the ripped edge of the plane.

* * *

Steve waited until the helicopter pilot hovered low and tossed out the ladder line, then in a burst of speed, Austin took a running start and leapt for the pilot side of the chopper, landing perfectly on the sled, taking the man by surprise. The pilot struggled with him for control of the stick and Steve managed to flick the auto-hold toggle to stabilize the craft as they continued to battle for control. Steve was able to grab the man and pull him from the seat, but unfortunately, both of them tumbled from the open door. Steve let go of the man in order to make a safe landing with his bionic legs on the ground. The pilot hit the snow with a sickening thump. Steve went to him, but the man was dead. In their fight, the helicopter's low hover altitude had risen and Steve had to use his bionics to reach the bottom of the ladder, climb up and take control of the pilot's seat, which he did with ease.

A moment later he saw Jaime walk slowly out from the plane's ragged edge, but instead of having Rudy with her she was alone. Then he spotted Perdoux with a hand on Rudy's bad shoulder, holding a gun to his mid-section, and Steve's heart dropped. He lowered the hover of the chopper to let the ladder hit the ground, as he knew Perdoux' pilot would have done and he waited, allowing Jaime to make the next move.

"Stop!" Yelled Perdoux over the noise of the Lynx. Jaime complied. "Kneel down!"

"Madeleine" Rudy pleaded, "if I meant anything to you at all, please don't do this. Let her go."

"I'm sorry, Rudy," Perdoux said, "but I can't do that."

From his vantage point in the chopper, to Steve's horror, he saw Rudy shove back into Madeleine and wrestle her for control of the weapon, as Jaime lunged for them. A struggle ensued and Rudy threw himself between Sommers and Perdoux as the gun went off, and he dropped like a stone.

"Rudy!" Jaime cried.

And in blind anger, Sommers grabbed the gun and pulled with all of her bionic might, sending the weapon and Perdoux who never let go of it flying over Jaime's head, past the damaged airplane and over the edge of the Matterhorn, sending the woman screaming to her death.

Jaime knelt next to the man who had saved her life on more than one occasion, and she pulled him into her lap, causing him to groan in pain.

"Rudy? Babe? Come on, Rudy, stay with me…"

The bloodstain on his shirt was quickly expanding from the bullet wound in his chest. Rudy forced his eyes open to look at her.

"Jaime… it's bad, this time, honey," he whispered through gritted teeth. "Really bad."

"God, Rudy, why did you put yourself in harm's way like that?"

"I couldn't let her get you, baby. I could never stand by and watch you or Steve being harmed. Never..."

Sommers could just barely hear Austin's voice with her bionic ear above the sound of the Lynx, yelling at her. "Jaime! Come on! Weather front is moving in fast, we've got to get out of here. Pick him up and get up here!"

Jaime picked Wells up and carried him to the ladder, and slinging him over her shoulder she ascended the ladder as quickly as her bionic limbs would allow. With Steve's help she lifted Rudy into the backseat of the Lynx and lay him across one side of the two rows of seats behind the pilot and co-pilot seats, then she pulled the ladder up, and Steve took off, thankful they were in an acrobatic Lynx instead of something less agile.

Jaime knelt next to where Wells lay and she pressed a towel against the wound in his chest, trying to stop the massive bleed from killing him right there. He screamed in agony as she pressed, and Jaime's eyes filled with tears. With her other hand, she tried to sooth him by stroking his brow.

"Shhhh… it's okay, babe. It's okay, Rudy."

"Jaime…"

She leaned in closer, and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "Steve and I have you Rudy, we're on our way to the nearest hospital with a landing pad in Switzerland. Just hang on. You have to stay with me, babe."

"Don't know if I can, Jaime…"

Sommers looked down into the pools of sad brown eyes filled with pain, and she leaned ever closer to him, taking his hand in hers.

"I love you, Rudy, you know that. Now and always."

He nodded slightly. "I know. Love you too. And Steve." His voice grew weaker, but he managed a smile. "You're like my kids."

She brushed a hand across his cheek and placed a soft kiss on his cold lips. "You gotta fight, Rudy. I know you're exhausted and you've already been through hell, but you have to… for me and Steve."

He smiled at her, unsure if he could. "Jaime, please tell Oscar that I love him like a brother and this wasn't his fault." Sommers couldn't say anything through her tears and Rudy squeezed her hand with the little strength he had left. "He'll blame himself, Jaime. Don't let him… don't …let…him…"

Rudy passed out and Jaime whispered a prayer as the Lynx sped toward Geneva.


	8. Oscar's Confession

As soon as Steve called him, Oscar was on the next military jet he could hitch a ride on to get him to Geneva quickly. Austin had been uncharacteristically grim on the phone regarding Wells' condition and Goldman fought to keep the panic hidden from view. Panic that Rudy might not make it. Panic that he wouldn't be there with him. Panic that it was entirely Oscar's own fault. Panic and guilt. He closed his eyes as the helicopter he'd caught from the airbase to the hospital landed on the helipad. Goldman bolted from the chopper toward Steve who was waiting to escort him to Rudy. The two friends shook hands.

"Steve, tell me something good," Oscar said uneasily.

"Wish I could, Oscar," Steve's voice wavered slightly, "but it's not looking very good for him." He continued as the two men walked down a flight of stairs and headed for an elevator. "The bullet clipped his heart and one of the main valves. The cardiac surgeon said he repaired it the best he could, but the damage was extensive. He just isn't sure if Rudy has the strength to survive."

Goldman stopped Austin in the corridor with a hand, his voice authoritative. "Rudy's one of the strongest willed men I know, Steve, he can make it."

Austin swallowed down the lump in his throat; he had to make sure Goldman understood the gravity of the situation. "Oscar, the surgeon gave Rudy a ten percent chance. He said it would take a miracle for him to pull through."

The words stung Goldman's heart and for a moment Steve was afraid that his dear friend might collapse right there. Oscar backed up into the wall and let it support him, his face stunned with grief, his eyes fighting valiantly to hold back tears.

"Ten percent… dear God." He looked up at Steve. "There must be something we can do. There has to be something…"

Steve moved to him and took him by the arms, looking hard into his chocolate eyes. "It's out of our hands now, Oscar. It's up to Rudy."

"Take me to him."

Austin gently led Goldman down a few more corridors until they stopped outside the ICU, and through a glass window, Goldman could see Rudy on a ventilator, breathing only because his lungs were being forced to do so. Sitting in a chair by the bed was Jaime. Oscar moved quickly inside the room as soon as his feet would allow him to move and he stood just inside the door.

"Jaime…"

Sommers looked up, tears rushing her eyes and she ran to Oscar, allowing his long arms to encircle her in comfort, her own squeezing his neck. The two said nothing for a long time, but stood silently, with only an occasional sob from Jaime mingling with the beeps and breaths of the equipment in the room. After a long while, Oscar gently broke the embrace and wiped her face of tears.

"How is he, babe?"

She glanced back toward the bed. "I'm not sure he can do this, Oscar. He's so tired." She looked deeply into his eyes, taking the lapels of his jacket in both of her hands. "He told me to tell you that he loves you like a brother and to remind you that none of this was your fault."

The stab in Oscar's heart was as real as if it had been pierced with steel, and Jaime saw him recoil slightly as if he had received a physical blow. She steadied him as he looked down, fighting to hold the tears back, but when she dropped her gaze to catch his, she could see by the glistening orbs of brown that he had been unsuccessful.

"You have to remember," she said gently, "that he loves you, Oscar." He nodded, still unable to utter anything other than a soft cry. "Oh Oscar, Rudy wouldn't want to see you hurting like this…"

Then he looked directly at her. "Nor you, or Steve… But what else can we feel, Jaime?" He looked over at the figure lying as still as death on the bed. "I didn't have the opportunity to tell him…" Goldman couldn't say it aloud. He couldn't voice what was in his heart. Not even to Jaime. Not to anyone.

Jaime's soft hand stroking his cheek brought his eyes back to hers. "Tell him now, Oscar. He's still here. He's right there. Tell him now."

With that she gently broke from him and walked out the door, leaving the two old friends alone.

For a long time, Oscar couldn't move from the spot he was standing. It was as if his feet were glued to the floor. But finally, after trying to steady his heart, breath and mind, he walked over and sat in the chair by the bed, pulling it as close as it would go. He leaned his elbows on the mattress, taking Rudy's hand in his right and rubbing his left softly over Rudy's shoulder and arm. Wells' eyes fluttered slightly, as if he was trying to let Goldman know he was listening.

"Rudy… it's Oscar. I'm here." The only other sound in the room was the soft sound of the ventilator moving and the beeps from the machines keeping Rudy alive. "There's so much we've left unsaid between us, Rudy. You're one of my best friends, and I can't imagine…" Goldman couldn't bear to say it aloud. He swallowed hard and tried again. "You, Jaime, Steve, Callahan and Russ are the only family I'll ever have, Rudy. It's hard for me to verbalize what I'm feeling; I've never been good at saying what's in my heart, you know that… I'm only slightly better at showing it." Goldman cleared his throat. Not because he needed to, but because he was afraid his heart might burst. "God this is so unfair. It shouldn't be you lying there, Rudy. I wish the hell it was me. I'm such a coward really at seeing the people I … the people I care about hurting." He silently rubbed the arm under his hand for a moment while he collected his thoughts. "Jaime passed on what you wanted her to; I'd rather you stayed and fought, Rudy. I don't have the heart to lose you, really I don't."

Oscar stood then and leaned over Rudy's body. "I love you too, pal."

One of the tears streaming down Goldman's face dropped on to Rudy's cheek as Oscar bent down and softly placed a kiss on Rudy's forehead. He rubbed the man's arm then as he straightened up to leave. "The world won't be the same if you're not in it, Rudy."

Oscar brushed the tears from his face and walked out the door.


	9. Ruht wohl

For two days, the three of them kept a vigil with Steve and Jaime taking turns at Rudy's bedside. Oscar couldn't bring himself to go into the room again, and he sat like a stone statue in the waiting room outside the ICU. Jaime was worried that Goldman might dissolve with the loss of Wells; it certainly looked like it. But deep down she knew he was tougher than that – it was going to be tough on all of them.

The cardiologist approached the three of them in the corridor after he had examined Rudy. "It is time for difficult decisions, I am afraid."

"What did you have in mind?" Steve asked.

"He cannot remain on the ventilator forever. It is simply keeping him alive by doing the work that his own heart and lungs should be doing."

"Are you asking us to disconnect him?" Jaime couldn't keep the horror from her tone.

"It is something to consider," the doctor responded.

Oscar stood then, anger coming to the surface. "Absolutely not. You're asking us to kill him. We're not doing that!"

Steve took ahold of Goldman's arms. "Easy Oscar, that's not what he meant."

Goldman looked incredulously at Sommers. "Jaime, you don't go along with this, do you?"

Jaime gently took Oscar's hands and pulled him aside. "It might be the kindest thing we could do for Rudy, babe." She could see the pain rise in Goldman's eyes, and she brushed his cheek. "Oscar, we can't let him suffer like this indefinitely."

Goldman's eyes dropped to the floor, the truth of it weighing them down. "I know," he whispered.

"Okay, Steve and I can take care of this. You don't have to do it."

"NO." The forcefulness of his voice caught Jaime off guard and he relented. "I'm sorry, babe, I'm not raising my voice at you, really… It's just, I should be the one to do it."

"Oscar, you haven't been able to bring yourself to go back into his room since the first night you got here."

He nodded. "Yes, because in my heart of hearts I knew this was coming, Jaime. I don't want you and Steve living with this; and I've known him the longest. It needs to be me."

They moved back toward Austin and the doctor. Goldman reached out for the clipboard with the form and signed it.

"We'd all like a moment with him first."

"Of course. Let me know when you are ready."

Goldman nodded and the doctor moved away. He turned to Steve.

"You ready, pal?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

Sommers and Goldman watched Austin walk into the room and waited.

* * *

Steve approached the bed and sat on the edge, taking Rudy's hand in his.

"Rudy, it's Steve, pal. I want to say thank-you, Rudy. For giving me a second chance at life; for taking such good care of me; and most of all for being such a good friend over the years." Austin swallowed hard. "You're very dear to me, Rudy. I'm gonna miss you more than you can know, and if I could trade places with you, I wouldn't hesitate. I owe you at least that. I love you, Rudy, and Godspeed."

Austin set the hand in his carefully down and walked out of the room, down the hall and into a private alcove. Goldman kissed Sommers on the forehead, and watched her walk in.

* * *

Jaime sat on the bed next to Wells and took his hand.

"Aw Rudy, it shouldn't have happened like this… I'd give anything for it not to have. My God I don't know what I'll do without you, Rudy. You gave me life again; you trusted me and held my hand when I was scared; encouraged me when I needed it, and loved me unconditionally. I want you to know that I have always thought of you as a blessing in my life." She kissed Rudy's hand, and covered it with both of hers. "I love you so much, Rudy; I don't think you ever realized how much." She stood and bent over, kissing his cheek. Then she leaned into his ear and whispered, "You'll always live in a special place in my heart, babe."

Jaime quickly left the room in tears and into Oscar's waiting embrace.

"Shh, Jaime, it's all right, babe."

He rocked her for awhile, then let her go. Goldman nodded to the doctor who was standing nearby.

"Let's go, doctor."

Sommers watched as Oscar walked into the room with the doctor in tow. Goldman stood by the bed, Rudy's hand in his while the doctor disconnected the tubes and IVs; all but the EKG monitoring his heartbeat. The doctor removed the ventilator last and then turned to Goldman.

"It shouldn't be long now. If it becomes difficult for him to breathe, we can give him morphine to stop the pain. Just let us know."

"Okay," Oscar said.

The doctor left the room, and Goldman sat on the bed, keeping Rudy's hand in his.

"I'm here, Rudy, and I'm not going to leave you. Don't be afraid."

Goldman waited as the blips on the monitor slowed. And little by little, Wells began to gasp for air, his primitive instinct to survive taking over. Oscar held his hand and then put a comforting hand on Rudy's chest.

"Don't fight, Rudy. It's okay to go. It's okay to rest." Oscar felt the lump in his throat constrict and he swallowed. "I'll take care of Jaime and Steve, I promise you. I'll keep them safe. I wish I could have kept you safe, pal. I'll probably never get over that, Rudy."

The gasping became worse and for a moment Goldman thought he might give in and call for morphine; but he remembered a conversation he had had years prior with Wells in which Rudy had said he always hoped he would face death head on, face to face without the mask of drugs hiding it. It was the last thing Oscar could do for him, and as painful as it was to watch, Goldman knew he owed Wells at least that final dignity.

Oscar rubbed a hand over Rudy's chest as the man gasped harder for air. "Let go, Rudy. Stop fighting now. You've done enough. Go to my brother Sam and tell him that because I had you in my life I was able to let go of the pain I felt over losing him." Goldman felt the sting of tears in his eyes, but he held true to the course, squeezing Rudy's hand. "Our duty done, brother, hear the call of slumber. Know at last peace, rest, interred again eternal. Shining and gleaming, I hath seen this before on the hand of my kin as death pulled him forth. In the stone alcove, where life ebbed away, we had hid treasure and summoned forth death. Now shall I rest, as my brother the same. At last at peace, at last to dream."

For the briefest of moments, Rudy's hand squeezed Oscar's and then he pulled his final ragged breath, and death's rattle in his chest overcame him. Goldman gently released the hand gripped in his own, setting it neatly down and adjusting the covers. He softly pressed his forehead for a moment against Rudy's, his eyes closed, saying a silent prayer. Then swallowing hard, Oscar straightened up, touched Rudy's hand one final time and whispered, "Ruht wohl…"

###


End file.
